Lessons from a Colt Owner

Lessons from a Colt Owner

“Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” (Mark 11:2-3)

Mark noted that Jesus obtained the colt by supernatural knowledge (vv.2-3).  In oriental cities it was very unusual to have an animal tethered outside, but Jesus knew from a distance that the animal was there.  Jesus instructed His followers to use royal language to obtain the animal: “The Lord has need of it”(v.3).  Notice, too, that Jesus takes care to assure the owners that He is not confiscating the colt; He will return it quickly.

However, suppose the man with the colt had treated the disciples the way many of us treat Jesus today.  What if the response to “The Lord has need of it” had been, “Well what’s that to me?  I have need of it myself.  Get going.”  Do we tell the Lord that our time is our own?  Because the Lord doesn’t press us, we sometimes forget that what we have toward Him is nevertheless a debt.  When those outside heard that the Lord needed a colt, they let it go without a word.  How ready are we to do the same?

Meditation:  When the Lord has need of something from me, how ready am I to give it to Him?

Further Reading: Matthew 11:1-10